Invisible Descent
by kinatsurune
Summary: There is definitely a huge disadvantage of everyone having a blueprint of you before you’re even born. Constantly being compared to his future counterpart, Trunks is reaching his breaking point. Can Gohan succeed in keeping him from falling too far?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Notes:

Trunks – 17

Goten – 16

Gohan – 25 

Main Pairing – Gohan/Trunks (present)

Other warnings – shounen ai, obviously, and if you don't know what that means, why don't you read and find out ::wink:: I'll gladly read and laugh at your flames. Trunks might be a little OOC just because he's a hard character to write for me, but I tried my best.

Hope you like!

**--Invisible Descent--**

_Prologue_

There is definitely a huge disadvantage of everyone having a blueprint of you before you're even born.

In the beginning, it really wasn't that big of a deal. I mean, sure, it was a little weird and sometimes a bit annoying when you're constantly hearing about how a future version of yourself came back in time to save the present world and all that good stuff…but like I said, it wasn't that big of a deal. I mostly thought of this Mirai guy just as some other savior like my dad or Goku-san; I didn't really think of him as…well, _me_. After all, besides our genetic makeup, our experiences in life were completely different so it stands to reason we would develop in completely different directions.

But slowly, I began to realize that everyone didn't seem to think along the same lines as me. To them, it didn't matter that we were from two completely different timelines; simply put, I was expected to become like him. To _be_ him. After all, we were both Trunks Briefs, son of Vegeta and Bulma Briefs, heir to the Saiyan throne, etc etc…

There were the little things. Mom's disapproval, scolding me for my bad manners, my rough attitude, my constant getting into trouble with my partner in crime, Goten…_why can't you just act like a gentleman?_ In unspoken words, _why can't you act like _him?If I had a nickel for every time she said that, I'd have more money than the total profits Capsule Corp earned each year. Or, the one time I grew my hair out, Gohan-san remarking how Mirai me did that too. There went my idea of trying to be cool and original.

And then there were the not so little things. Like, dad acting so damn impatient for me to grow up, as if he couldn't wait for this little bratty kid to become the cool, strong, teenage son he knew would come into existence. Every time we trained in the gravity room, he'd always yell at me to hurry up and become a super Saiyan so he could get a proper beating spar with his son. I'd always wondered how he knew for sure I'd become one; apparently, Mirai me had. Even my secret crush Gohan-san seemed to completely overestimate my powers; anytime Goten and I sparred against him, he would fight so much harder against me than his own brother. Even the dense Goten noticed, whining to Gohan-san how he wasn't being fair. _Whoops, sorry Trunks. Oh man, are you okay? I guess I keep hitting too hard because I keep thinking you're…you know, the other one. _In unspoken words, _sorry that you're a lot weaker than I thought._

From everyone, _everyone _around me…expectations, expectations, then disappointment. I'm sorry I didn't live in a ravaged, hopeless timeline, okay? I'm sorry I didn't develop that iron will, that fire and courage, that noble gentlemanly spirit…I'm just a normal (well, as normal as a closet gay demi-Saiyan can get) teenager that just wants to have fun with his best friend and _maybe _snag the man of his dreams. There was nothing I could do to dispel that pervading sense of disappointment when everyone would realize over and over I _wasn't_ the man they expected me to be.

It built up. I was able to deal with it at first, but there's only so much I could take; I could never relax, constantly wondering if what I was doing was okay, thinking, _would my future self have done this? Would he have done that?_ I became so self-conscious, Goten insisted one time that I _just_ _chill for crying out loud and quit being so damn concerned about your image! _I think at the time, even the Son was becoming annoyed at how picky I was being on how to act during an informal dinner invitation at his house. Goten found it amusing only the first three times when I seriously asked him whether Goku-san and Chichi-san expected me to greet them with a respectful bow. At school, I came off as a rich snob because of how superficial I seemed to be. _That _certainly didn't help my already existing problems.

The only time I could be myself was when I was with Goten, the only one who didn't have predisposed conceptions about me. With everyone else, I had to be what they expected to see. But how long can a fake image last, especially when it didn't seem to work in satisfying everybody? What do I do about this hopelessness that no matter how hard I try, I can't just _be_ someone I'm not?It was indeed, extremely tiring - my façade had begun to reach its inevitable expiration. And when it collapsed, I knew I would fall. Hard.

But no one would be there to catch me.

o.oo000ooo..oooo….ooo00pagebreak000000o.o0o.o000000o..o

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think! And in each chapter, I'm going to try to recommend good DBZ fics I've read so as to contribute to the authors who I believe deserve to be read. Since this is a Trunks yaoi fic, I'll mostly recommend those.

So, first recommendation:

Title: Tomorrow Never Knows

Author: Raidne

Rating: M (but it's not explicit or anything, sadly T.T Hopefully it will be in the future)

Genre: Romance/Drama

Pairing: Mirai Trunks x Mirai Juunanagou

Quick Link: www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/824811/1/

Summary: Chapter 10 Added Things are taking place in the mirai timeline that no one ever expected. The androids come back but they are changed somehow. When they return so does someone else.

Comments: Very well written, especially in the portrayal of both characters. It's plot development is slow, but that's part of the story's charm; it keeps you in good suspense, with good timing of gradually drawing you into the story. Has ten chapters so far, but the author hasn't updated in a while so please go read and review telling them how great their fic is!!

And if anyone has any good Trunks yaoi fics to recommend to me, please let me know! I'm not picky about the pairing, as long as Trunks is the uke.


	2. Book I: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ; it belongs to Akira Toriyama. 

Review Responses:

Dash Janner IV-Wow, I never really thought of it that way but that is very true. Thanks a lot for the advice, I'll keep that in mind for the future! (I'm not gonna fix it for this fic, though, purely because I'm too lazy…)

Daisy.insane-angel- Yup, that was kinda the effect I was going for…I'm glad you got the sense of it!

Falcongirl386 – yeah, me too, I was surprised there wasn't more angsty Trunks fics of this kind…part of the reason why I decided to write this.

Kara – In a male/male relationship, uke refers to the one that is of the more submissive nature. But that's the stereotypical definition, I'm not exactly making Trunks all quiet and girly, or anything like that; it's just that Gohan will be the more dominant one, being more experienced in life and stronger. (And taller, although that's a bit superficial on my part ::sweatdrop::)

Everyone else, thanks a lot for your encouraging reviews!!

**Book I: Slipping**

_Chapter One – Vegeta and Bulma_

"Oh, come _on_ Goten, I know you're better than that!" A young violet haired teen playfully mocked his best friend, laughing at the resulting pout. "What's the matter, giving up 'cause you know I'm gonna beat you again?" Easily, he dodged the ill-timed punch and responded with a quick jab straight in the chest.

"No way, Trunks!" Goten shouted, black eyes shining in determination. "I'll beat you this time, just you watch!" He feinted to the left, then quickly punched to the right. The youngest Son crowed in triumph as it successfully landed. "Haha, I got you – ack!"

Trunks laughed as his friend's character on the screen exploded, resulting in large blinking letters stating, 'KO! Winner: Devil Jin!'

"Noooo, that's not fair Trunks, you cheated!"

"What? What the hell are you talking about, how can I cheat in a fighting game?"

"I dunno, but you did, I just know it!"

Trunks sighed in exasperation, brushing his lavender hair out of his eyes. He was however, far too used to his friend's whining to be seriously bothered by it. "Yeah, whatever…you know I _always_ beat you in a real or video game fight."

"Hey, that's because it's _your_ game, you have all the time in the world to practice with it. And that's not true, I've beat you in spars before!" Goten retorted, grabbing his friend's head and purposefully mussing up the perfectly combed hair.

"Goten, don't DO that, you're messing up my hair!" Trunks pulled away, appalled at the offense to his looks. "And you've only won like once or twice…"

"Don't lie!"

As the two boys argued heatedly, neither noticed the dark shadow that had appeared and now loomed over the momentarily abandoned video game. It wasn't until the newcomer roughly cleared his voice that the two teens bothered to look up from their argument with slight impatience on their faces.

"What?!"

Upon realizing the identity of the shadow, both boys reflexively gulped, hoping Vegeta was in a good mood. At least then, they'd get away with only a punch or two. "Err, I mean, did you want something, dad?" Trunks ventured timidly, aware of the slowly deepening scowl on his father's face.

"What are you doing?" The prince of all Saiyans growled out, glaring down at the two cowering boys.

"Um, we were just playing video games, Mr. Vegeta…" Goten answered uncertainly, wondering what they'd done wrong now. It wasn't like they'd played a prank or anything, they'd stopped those a while ago every since Trunks had become such a stickler about keeping a good image. Speaking of which, said teen seemed about ready to piss his pants; Goten didn't really understand why his friend had become so tense about never getting in trouble.

"Video games?"

"Yeah, it's called Tekken 5, wanna play?"

Trunks nearly slapped himself, berating his friend for his naïve stupidity. _His_ father, sitting down to play _video games_? That would be the day Frieza came back to life to serenade Goku in a pink tutu.

Sure enough: "Why of course, I would love to sit my ass down in front of an electric box that will rot my eyes away just to involve myself in a useless fight that will only improve the muscles in my fingers!" Vegeta answered sarcastically, his voice rising in anger. "Brat, what the hell are you doing, just sitting here with that useless contraption instead of training! Do you realize, you haven't trained in 2 whole days! How could you let yourself fall behind where you're supposed to be, eh?"

"You mean where _he's _supposed to be…" Trunks muttered under his breath, slowly reaching forward to turn the game console off. He suddenly jumped back as a foot slammed down on his newly bought PS2, missing his hand by mere inches.

"Are you talking _back_ to me, boy?"

Shock that his father would so thoughtlessly destroy his possession made the young teen's temper flare up in anger and just a little bit of hurt. Forgetting the consequences of raising his voice to his dad, Trunks yelled angrily, "What did you do that for, I just bought that with my own money!"

"You've been too preoccupied with it lately, I believed it necessary to get rid of what was distracting you from your proper training." Vegeta replied simply.

"I was about to turn it OFF, didn't you see me reaching for it?" Trunks gestured furiously down at the smashed console. "You didn't have to DESTROY it!"

"Don't you dare talk back to me!" Vegeta roared, grabbing his son by the shirtfront. "I'll do what I see fit to discipline MY son into acting like a proper Saiyan, do you hear me?!"

Goten fidgeted nervously on the ground, wondering whether he should try and escape from the father-son dispute. "Um, Trunks, should I - "

"Go home brat, your visit's done here." Vegeta said abruptly, dragging his protesting son out of the room, leaving Goten to stare helplessly after them.

* * *

Bulma Briefs knew she was getting old, but it was times like these that really helped her forget. She chuckled at the scornful comments her daughter began making about the young man who had tried to hit on her, shaking her head at how picky the younger generation had become these days.

"Oh Bra, his eyebrows were NOT too big…in my opinion, he really wasn't all that bad looking, sweetie."

The young teen screwed her face up in disgust as she shifted the many shopping bags in her arms. "Mom, he SO was not. Did you see the way he dresses, for one thing? Even the most fashion-deprived people would know _never_ to wear green pants _and_ a green top! What is he, some environmental advocate or something?"

Bulma laughed again, dumping her own bags into the back seat of their red convertible. "Well, whatever you say honey, but I think your standards might be just a bit too particular. Come on, I should get home so I can make dinner…"

"Mom, please, don't even try. Just order pizza." Bra teased, brushing her blue hair back out of her face.

"Hmm, just for that, I think I won't."

Ten minutes later found the two Briefs slowly making their way into their large house, laden with numerous shopping bags and boxes and arguing lightly about the virtues of Bulma's cooking.

"But at least I cook healthy things, so even if they don't exactly taste like gourmet, it'll still keep the figure well enough. Besides, with the way Saiyans eat, I doubt you all don't really taste what you're eating anyway."

"Mom, are you putting me on _their_ level? I do NOT eat like them, I actually stop to breathe in between bites!"

"Oh I don't know about that. Don't forget, I have caught you once or twice on your midnight snacking sprees – oh my, Trunks! What's the matter?" Bulma immediately dropped her bags in alarm at the sight of her son slouched over the kitchen counter in a rather awkward position.

"Uh? Oh, hi mom…" Trunks responded groggily, talking as best he could through a swollen cheek and split lips. "Don't worry about it, dad and I were just sparring and I couldn't find a senzu bean…"

"Did he have to go that far?" Bulma tenderly held her son's face for inspection, only a small hint of anger in her voice. Honestly, sometimes it completely frustrated her at the way Vegeta handled raising their son; she knew no doubt that he cared for Trunks, but sometimes the ways he went about in expressing it would simply get out of hand!

"Well, he was mad about my new PS2…he completely smashed it, by the way." The lavender-haired teen said sullenly, dropping his head down again to rest his swollen cheek on the cool counter. "Mom, sometimes he just…does really unnecessary things, you know? I mean, he didn't have to completely _destroy_ it."

"Whoa, what happened to you, bro?" Bra peeked over her mother's shoulder to see the pitiful state of her older brother.

"Oh piss off, Bra, I don't need you bothering me right now." Trunks answered crankily, lifting his head off the counter and away from his mother's persisting hands.

Bra lifted her hands defensively. "Well, I'm _so_ sorry for breathing the same air as you."

"Trunks, don't talk to your sister like that." Bulma chided sternly. "You're supposed to be a gentleman to ladies, even your family."

Trunks sighed at the well-used phrase. "Of course, mother." He replied with the tiniest trace of sarcasm. Luckily, his mother didn't catch it as she directed her daughter to fetch the first aid kit. It was a wonder they still had one, considering the use of senzu beans, but Trunks supposed it was there for cases like this when they ran out. While waiting for his sister to come back (and ignoring his mother's…well, mothering), the teen idly wondered if Goten had been put off at their game being interrupted. Even though he'd known the other boy for almost his entire life, Trunks cringed at how he and Vegeta must have looked to the Son. 'I bet Goten and his dad never fight like that.' He thought bitterly. 'Goku-san probably doesn't demolish his son's things either.'

"Trunks, are you listening to me?"

Trunks sighed again as he grudgingly pulled his thoughts back to reality. He already knew what his mother was saying, but she wouldn't be satisfied until he confirmed he was listening. "Yeah, yeah I am…"

"What did I say, then?"

Trunks wracked his brains for what these lectures usually consisted of. "Um, that I really shouldn't complain about dad because he really does care, it's just that he doesn't know how to show it in normal ways. And uh…I shouldn't talk so roughly because I should act like a gentleman because - "

Bulma nearly laughed as her son went on. "Trunks, I just said that I'll be ordering pizza for dinner. But it's good to know that you listen to me other times."

The young teen blushed briefly at being caught. "Oh…right…"

* * *

Dinner that day was, to put it lightly, just a bit tense. Even Bra who didn't usually care much about the odd workings of men, shifted uncomfortably at the obvious tension between her brother and father. Why on Earth did her mother insist on them always eating dinner together? Why couldn't she have made an exception, just this once?

Suddenly, as if he couldn't take the heavy atmosphere anymore, Trunks abruptly stood up with his plate in hand, a half eaten pizza still on it.

Without even looking up, Vegeta addressed his son harshly. "Sit down, brat. Your mother wishes for us to eat dinner as a _family_."

Trunks glared down at his father, dearly wishing he was strong enough at the moment to wipe that ever-present scowl off that unyielding face. Why couldn't he at least allow him the dignity of leaving in peace? They both knew this awkward ambiance was due to their little spat earlier, so why couldn't his father at least let him relieve it for the sake of the rest of their family? 'Selfish bastard.' Trunks thought, simultaneously feeling both secret pleasure and fear at cursing his father so explicitly in his mind. Still, that fear would always win over, as he reluctantly sat back down. The young demi-Saiyan's appetite was now spoiled however – a rare occurrence – so he simply sat glaring down at his plate.

"Trunks, your food isn't gonna burst into fire no matter how hard you glare." Bra commented lightly.

The older Brief's only response was a tightening of his fist around his unused fork. Unfortunately, being half Saiyan, said fork didn't really stand a chance of surviving his powerful grip.

"Trunks!" Bulma exclaimed at the sound of bending metal.

A guilty look immediately replaced the teen's scowl. "Oops…"

Sighing in exasperation, Bulma gently pried the ruined piece of silverware from her son's hands. "Never mind, you can leave. Go on, go to your room and study for that test you failed."

Wincing at her frank statement, Trunks immediately left the table and made his way to his room. Before he'd even made it to the staircase, his sharp hearing picked up his mother's long-suffering sigh, "I don't understand; Mirai's temper was nothing like his."

If the comment hadn't been about his temper, Trunks would have slammed his door shut regardless of whether it survived or not. But so as not to prove his mother right, the young man restrained the urge, instead settling for violently throwing himself onto his messy bed. 'God, why can't they just _lay off _about that stupid future guy?' Trunks thought resentfully, feeling extremely irritated. 'Just because we _look_ the same…'

The sudden sound of Linkin Park's "Numb" brought a welcome interruption to his stewing anger. Grabbing his sleek cell phone, Trunks glanced at the caller id and flipped it open eagerly. "Goten, you would not believe how pissed off I am right now." He began to rant, heedless of whether his friend wanted to hear it or not.

"Oh…did I call at a bad time?"

"No no no, it's not you…my parents are just being real jerks. Again."

After a brief silence of absorbing this statement, Goten spoke up, "Because of your PS2? You are getting a new one, right?"

Flipping onto his back to get comfortable, Trunks fiddled absentmindedly with his lavender bangs. "Yeah, of course, but it's gonna take me awhile because I have to save up all over again. Damn it, dad really didn't have to go that far, you know? I mean honestly, of course I'd be playing it a lot right after I got it, I've only wanted it for so long! It's not like it means I've stopped training just because I break my usual routine once in a while! Seriously, he's got the biggest stick up his ass, I don't know how mom deals with it. It's like the minute something isn't to his liking, he decides to-"

"Um Trunks, I don't mean to interrupt, but I wanted to ask if you could come over tomorrow for dinner." Goten cut in, sounding slightly amused. "Dad wants another get together, so even if you don't feel like they're your most favorite people in the world right now, can you ask your parents if they can come?"

The young teen yanked at his bangs irritably. "Okay, fine, but Goku-san seriously needs to learn how to use a telephone himself."

"Well, he doesn't find any use for it when me, Gohan, and mom are here to do it for him." Goten responded lightly. "So anyway, don't worry about your dad, I'm sure he'll forget all about it."

"Yeah, but _I_ won't." Trunks muttered. "And mom _always_ takes his side, saying how that's just how he is and I've gotta accept it. And _her_!"

Although Trunks couldn't see it, Goten nearly jumped at the sudden exclamation.

"Both of them do it a lot, but mostly her! She's always fucking comparing me to that other guy! I mean, what's the deal with that? It's like having the ghost of an older, better brother always haunting me and following me around, taunting me how I could never live up to how good _he_ was!"

Goten waited patiently for his friend to get everything out of his system; by now, he was beginning to become accustomed to this particular line of conversation, as this wasn't the first (or second, or third…) time his best friend felt the need to complain about his parents' treatment of him. Usually, it involved the future guy. The black-haired teen was beginning to wonder if Trunks' parents saw Mirai as some kind of perfect angel or something.

After ten minutes of ranting, Trunks finally calmed down enough for Goten to eagerly switch the conversation topic to something a bit more to his own liking.

"So anyway, remember that girl I was telling you about? You know, the one we saw at the mall?"

Trunks sighed in good humor. "Goten, when are you going to realize talking to me about that kind of stuff is useless?"

"Oh shut up, I've gotta talk to _someone_ about my romantic woes." Trunks snorted. "Just pretend I'm talking about a guy and you'll be fine." Goten insisted. "Anyway, I saw her again when I was out grocery shopping with my mom and guess what?"

Trunks decided to humor his friend. "What?"

"She goes to our school! And she's in your grade! Trunks, you _have_ to hook me up with her, I totally think we'll hit it off really well!" Goten spouted eagerly, clutching the phone closely to his ear. "Her name's Paris Londo and I think she's in your engineering class, and maybe your physics class too-"

"Geez, did you get her entire schedule? What are you, a stalker?" Trunks teased, laughing at the offended noise his friend made. "Okay okay, I'll try and see if I can talk to her. But remember the last time I did something like this?"

"Oh I remember alright," Goten grouched. "She ended up liking _you_ instead, which was a pretty hopeless situation anyway since you won't even _look_ at girls. Man Trunks, sometimes you can be so weird; how can you not be tempted by how awesome they are?"

"I go for a different kind." Trunks responded with a chuckle. 'Like your brother.' Although he wasn't sure he was ready yet to admit _that_ to his best friend - it already took a lot of courage to admit his sexual orientation to Goten, and luckily his friend was cool with it. To quote his words, "As long as you're not distracting yourself with my supreme hotness during a nice sweaty spar, then we're good."

"Yeah, okay whatever. Just make sure you present yourself as an uninteresting, absolutely boring guy and _me_ as the coolest, most sought after man in all of Orange Star High School. You got that?"

"Haha, sure, because of _course_ the plain, black haired gi-wearing dork that doesn't even brush his hair in the morning is _definitely _way cooler than someone like _me._"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? You wanna take it outside?" Goten challenged mischievously, already itching for a spar.

"Bring it on, let's do it at-"

"Trunks!"

Trunks jerked his head up in alarm at the sharp knock on his door. "Uh, hold on a minute Goten, I think my mom wants something." Pressing the hold button so his friend wouldn't overhear what could very well become yet another boring lecture on how to be a gentleman, the young demi-Saiyan called out, "It's open, mom."

The door opened slightly to reveal his mother's still young-looking face that currently held a disapproving frown. "What are you doing, talking on the phone right now?"

Trunks sighed, feeling the lecture coming on. "Wait, let me tell Goten bye for a sec." Pressing the hold button, Trunks said halfheartedly into his phone, "Sorry Goten, I gotta go. Maybe we can spar some other time."

"Aww, okay fine. See ya."

"Bye."

"Spar?" Bulma crossed her arms, as she entered the messy room. "Don't you have a test to study for?"

"Yes, 'm sorry." Trunks mumbled, gently setting his phone down on his nightstand. He resisted sinking into his bed, knowing his mom would chide him on slouching while she was trying to talk to him. He didn't need another lecture added onto what was already inevitable. "I'll do it now, okay?" He pleaded, hoping that would be sufficient to satisfy her.

Unfortunately it wasn't. "Trunks, you got a C on that test, and the quarter is almost over. You _need_ to bring your grade up for that class; you should be acing it with no problem!"

"Mom, a C isn't failing, you know. An E is."

"Don't be smart with me now, young man. For you, a C should be considered a failing grade because I know you can do so much better. All you need to do is study a bit more instead of always playing video games or roughhousing with Goten!" Bulma reprimanded severely. In a softer tone, she added encouragingly, "Trunks, I know you can do it. Heck, you've done it once before, in a way! Someone who can help build a time machine can definitely pass a Calculus course! Don't let yourself down, okay?"

Trunks closed his eyes at the reference yet again. He slowly counted to 5 in his head before he spoke up again, making sure his voice was completely neutral. "I'm sorry mom, I'll try to do better. But I mean, dad also expects me to be training more, so it's kind of hard to balance both studying _and_ training, you know? How am I supposed to find the time to be perfect at _both_?"

"I'm not asking you to be _perfect_, honey. I just want you to put a little more effort into what you're committed to."

'But being the best in school isn't _my_ commitment…it's _yours._' Trunks dearly wished to say, but he knew it would do no good. Neither of his parents would understand, so he merely answered in a slightly defeated tone, "Okay, I will."

"Thanks, Trunks. Do you want some fruit while you study?"

"No, I'll be fine." Trunks sighed as he watched his mother get up to leave. Before she had taken a step however, he suddenly remembered what Goten had asked of him. "Oh yeah, mom, Goku-san wants to have a dinner get-together tomorrow at his place."

"Does he?" Bulma quickly scanned her memory for anything important scheduled. "Well, I don't think any of us have anything really important to do tomorrow so we'll probably go. But make sure you get some studying done before then, alright?"

Trunks nodded, getting up from his bed to his cluttered desk. He barely heard his mother's encouraging "study hard!" as he glared down at the thick school textbooks scattered haphazardly about. It wasn't that he was stupid; far from it, in fact. Besides, that was Goten's forte. No, he just couldn't find the motivation to do well in a place where he already knew half the things taught. It didn't help that the school curriculum was so tedious; problems that he could normally do in his head in several seconds were expected to be completely written out, with every single formula used, showing every single step taken to arrive at the solution. Unfortunately for Trunks, he didn't think that way; his mind simply skipped over all those steps straight to the answer. But because of the stupid school system, grades were based a lot on showing work, which he really didn't know how to do since he just _knew._

'Stupid teachers always think I cheat because I only write down the answer.' Trunks mentally griped, beginning to feel his previously irritated mood surface again. God, high school was so freaking _unnecessary_.

With an emphatic groan, the young teen finally picked up his heavy math book and began to robotically memorize the formulas and theorems meticulously described and explained.

* * *

A/N: Review please and tell me what you think! 


	3. Book I: Chapter 2

_A/N: Wow, it's been a while!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Pretend previous sentence was something incredibly witty._

* * *

**Book I: Slipping**

_Chapter 2 – Gohan_

"Oh my GOD, I _totally_ failed that test." Trunks groaned, clutching his hair desperately. Goten raised an eyebrow without even stopping in inhaling his food.

"What test? I haven't heard of any test scheduled for today."

"That's because we're in different grades, dumbass. ("I'm not a dumbass!") Anyway, I meant a makeup test for math." Despite his despair, his Saiyan appetite was kicking in so the young teen unpacked his own lunch and began to eat, albeit a bit less enthusiastically than his friend.

"For math? But Trunks, I thought math was really easy for you." Goten asked, confused. The young Son knew his friend was close to being a genius when it came to math concepts; high school courses should've been a breeze for him.

"Yeah, but the school system makes it harder than it really is. Oh maaaan, my mom is gonna KILL me, she was really expecting me to raise my grade for the quarter…shit, what am I gonna DO? Should I beg the teacher on my hands and knees for a second makeup?"

Goten laughed, patting his worried friend reassuringly. "Your hair is seriously gonna be all gray by the time you reach your twenties. Seriously, Trunks, you're amazing and all, but you really need to relax sometimes."

"Tch, of course I'm amazing." Trunks bragged, pretending not to have heard the first and last part. His arrogant countenance immediately deflated as he looked into his lunch bag and discovered his drink missing. "Crap, I forgot to pack a drink. Hold on, lemme buy one from the vending machines."

"'Kay, don't trip and fall and mess up your perfect hair."

"Psh, no chance of that." Trunks waved casually as he made his way through the crowded lunch tables towards the vending machines. He groaned as he reached them, seeing the long line of students already standing in between him and his bottle of soda. "Damn, did everyone forget their drink today or something?"

Trunks sighed as he took his place in line, figuring there was nothing he could do about it. Waiting impatiently, he didn't notice right away the two boys whispering and sending him wary glances.

Catching one of the hostile looks, the lavender-haired teen spoke up roughly, "What are you looking at?"

"What makes you think we're looking at _you_?" The shorter boy with a baseball cap on backwards responded just as rudely.

"Because he thinks the entire world revolves around his rich ass." The other boy responded for him with a demeaning smirk. Trunks bristled, but refused to respond further. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten a comment on how snobby he was, and if he stopped to think about it, he hadn't done much to prevent that opinion from forming anyway.

"Whatever." Trunks muttered, jamming his fists into his jeans and glaring down at the dirty cafeteria floor. If people decided to see him as an arrogant bastard just because he liked to keep his image as perfect as possible, then that was their decision. He wouldn't let it affect him; they were just pathetic humans anyway.

Trunks started at the thought, disturbed. What kind of thought was that? It sounded more like something his father would say, _definitely _not him. 'I bet Mirai never had such filthy thoughts either.' The young teen thought sulkily, scuffing his shoe against an already existing scuffmark on the ground.

By the time it was his turn, the young teen's mood had become sourer than a lemon. Yanking his wallet out of his pocket, he abruptly jammed his coins in, snatched up the nameless soda, and proceeded to trudge back to his seat, glaring the whole way.

"Heya, looks like you didn't trip after all." Seeing the dark look on his face, Goten decided it was safe not to mention it. Instead, he cheerfully went on, "So anyway, don't forget to talk to Paris, alright?"

"Yeah, whatever…"

* * *

By the end of the day, Trunks had calmed down enough to be able to suppress, for the moment, any depressing thoughts he'd gained from the day. After his last class, he'd visited his math teacher and asked for a makeup for the makeup, and had found out he hadn't done so bad after all. It still probably wasn't what his mother wanted, a B+, but it was better than nothing. Second, although Paris had initially expressed surprise that the apparently resident snob had decided to come up and talk to her, she had amended her opinions of the lavender-haired teen after conversing with him. Plus, she had agreed to meet with Goten and thankfully _didn't_ develop a crush on the gay one like the last girl had.

"So, so, so?" Goten babbled excitedly, jumping up and down. "What'd she say, huh? Did you make sure she knew that it wasn't _you_ that was interested?"

Trunks laughed. "Don't worry, she doesn't like me. Apparently, she's known who you are for quite some time, and wants to meet you at Starbucks at the mall tomorrow at 4."

"Tomorrow?" Goten's face fell momentarily. "But tomorrow's Saturday, when we usually spar!"

Trunks remembered the eagerness his friend had displayed in waiting to finally meet the girl and shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever, it's only once. Besides, it seems like you really like her, so…"

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to jeopardize the meaningful relationship developing between you and I…" Goten said seriously, a hint of mischief sparkling in his dark eyes.

Trunks shoved his friend non-too gently, "Oh shut up, don't tease me like that. Weren't _you_ the one warning _me_ not to start hitting on you?"

"Heh, oh yeah…"

"Come on, let's get to your house; we can just spar before dinner tonight."

* * *

"Heey, Trunks! Long time no see! How come you don't come over anymore?" Goku greeted the demi-Saiyan cheerfully with an enthusiastic bear hug. If the young teen hadn't possessed his father's Saiyan genes, he would've been crushed to death by now.

"Err…hi Goku-san…um, I can't breathe…"

"Oh, whoops, sorry about that!"

Coughing, Trunks straightened out his wrinkled clothes. "Um, I've been busy with studying and training, that's all." He said politely, subconsciously straightening his hair.

"Except when you're distracted by that blasted BS2." Vegeta put in, casually taking a sip of punch.

Trunks glared at his father. "It's called a _P_S2, and that was just a one time thing right after I got it. But _now_, thanks to you-" The young teen immediately caught himself, nearly horrified he'd almost lost control of his temper so soon. What was he doing, _trying_ to get himself in trouble with his father again? Not to mention, completely embarrass himself in front of Goten's entire family…including Gohan.

Sensing his friend's turmoil, Goten grabbed Trunks' wrist and unknowingly dragged him towards the object of his affections. "Come on, Trunks, let's spar against Gohan! We haven't fought him in a while, let's see how good we got!"

"Erm, maybe some other time, Goten…" Trunks mumbled, halfheartedly resisting his friend's hold. The reason they hadn't fought in a while was because of his recent realization of his crush on the older man. And the fact that Gohan always seemed to go super hard on him for some reason.

Before Goten could respond, Gohan spotted the two and walked over with a cheerful grin on his face. "Hey, Trunks, I haven't seen you in a while! How are you doing?"

Feeling his face heat up, Trunks desperately hoped it wasn't too obvious. "Um, good, I'm doing good…err, how 'bout you?"

"Ah, cut the small talk, I wanna spar, Niichan!" Goten whined, acting like he was a little kid again. "Come on, you against me and Trunks!"

"But what about dinner-"

"-is still in the process of being cooked, so let's go!" Without further ado, the hyper teen blasted off into the air, headed in the direction of their usual sparring place. The two other demi-Saiyans looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.

* * *

An hour and a half later found one demi-Saiyan huffing and puffing on his knees, the second buried deep in a newly made crater right next to the first, and the third coolly standing with barely a hitch to his breath. "I think you guys have been slacking in your training, am I right?" Gohan teased the two exhausted teens.

"Hey, I'm still standing!" Goten wheezed out.

Trunks, unfortunately, couldn't say the same. Slowly, he pulled himself from the earth and began to painstakingly crawl his way out of the mini crater he'd been buried into. In the back of his mind, he reprimanded himself for looking so weak in front of both Goten and Gohan. Especially Gohan.

"Oi, Trunks, you still alive?"

Coughing some dust out of his throat, the demi-Saiyan gave a crooked smile of reassurance. "Yeah, still breathing."

Sensing the fight was pretty much over, Goten flopped down onto the grass spread-eagled. "Man, Gohan, you're not being very fair!" He complained with a pout.

"What are you talking about, it's not my fault you guys haven't been training as hard-"

"No, I mean you always go harder on Trunks than on me! Are you trying to help _him_ improve and not me?" Goten whined, wriggling in the fresh green grass to cool his sweat soaked body.

"Am I?" Gohan mused, helping Trunks stand on his feet.

"Yes!"

Trunks sighed, letting himself fall next to his best friend. "It doesn't really matter Goten, he's not THAT much harder on me."

"Yes he is!"

"No he's not-"

"No, I think Goten's right." Gohan admitted sheepishly, putting his hand on the back of his head in the trademark Son gesture. "I guess I keep hitting too hard because I keep thinking you're…you know, the other one. You're almost at the age when I last saw him, you know."

Trunks closed his eyes tightly, valiantly holding down the scream of frustration that threatened to escape. Gohan however, didn't seem to notice as he began to reminisce about his times with the future Trunks.

"He was incredibly strong, you know. And I don't just mean his physical strength; coming from a timeline like that, it really was amazing how calm and controlled he could be."

'Calm and controlled. Okay, I can be that.' Trunks thought to himself, successfully schooling his irritated expression back to a neutral one.

"And even though he'd seen so much pain and suffering, he was such a good person-"

"Like a gentleman?" Trunks echoed his mother's constant words in a light tone, a hint of mockery barely audible in his voice.

"Yeah. Yeah, pretty much." Gohan agreed in a strange tone of voice. Goten and Trunks looked at each other in confusion; the older demi-Saiyan sounded almost…dreamy?

"Um, niichan? Are you okay?" Goten asked, getting up to poke his brother's nose.

Recollecting himself in time to avoid the assault to his face, Gohan swatted the offending finger away with a laugh. "Yes, silly, of course I am. Don't mind me, I was just remembering something. Come on, we should get back; mom's probably having a fit right now."

" 'Kay. Come on Trunks, let's go."

"Mmm. Uh, I think I want to, uh, train for a couple of minutes right here." The two Sons looked at him oddly, making him blush. "Uh, alone. You know, just work on my forms. I think dad would like that."

"Okay, if you say so, but make sure you get back in time to eat." Gohan reminded him.

Trunks nodded, watching the two disappear in the horizon and leaving him to his thoughts.

'Why did Gohan sound like that?' It bothered him on Gohan's behavior when he talked about Mirai. There was definitely blatant admiration and respect in his tone of voice, but there was something else there…something enough that would reduce the older man to that dreamy state. It troubled the young lavender-haired youth, because if he was right in his suspicions, that would make for one messed up love-triangle and quite a bit of conflicted feelings on Trunks' part. For one thing, if Gohan really did have a crush on Mirai Trunks, than that proved the older demi-Saiyan was gay too, and seemed to have preferences for purple-haired Saiyan princes. 'But on the other hand, it's not _me_ he likes. It's _him_. Always _him!!_ He doesn't even _exist_ in this timeline, and yet he's completely ruining my life.'

Unfortunately, the minute his mind began spiraling in that direction, there was no way Trunks could stop it from going on, especially with no one and nothing around to distract him.

'Why is it so fucking _hard_ for me to be like that stupid future guy?' Trunks thought wrathfully. 'I _am _him, so it shouldn't be any problem being _like_ him!'

But apparently, there were plenty of problems, as proven by everyone's preoccupation with preferring the ghost of Mirai Trunks over the present form of just regular Trunks.

'Why do I even have to actually make an effort to be like him if he's supposed to be me? Why is it so hard? And _why_ weren't these very efforts making any difference in making everyone stop looking _past _me and at the other guy? Gohan looks at me and sees Mirai…he'd never want to be with me because I wasn't the guy who he fought with against Cell; I wasn't the gentleman who was kind and caring to everyone around him…'

Feeling a surge of anger, Trunks raised his fists and slammed them down as hard as he could into the ground. The young teen ignored the new crater he'd created as tears unwittingly sprang up in his cerulean blue eyes, rolling down his face to leave small paths in dirt-covered cheeks. "Nothing I do makes a difference." Trunks whispered, staring through blurred eyes down at the innocently swaying blades of grass. "I can't be gentleman enough. I can't be strong enough. I can never be…good enough for Gohan…"

What was the point then?

Trunks stopped his pathetic crying, wiping his eyes at the thought. Yes, what _was_ the point? If it was obvious his efforts were doing nothing, why bother trying at all? He'd never get everyone's approval anyway; why waste his energy working for an unattainable goal?

The teen shook his head. 'No, I can't think like that. I'm not supposed to be some hopeless fool, I'm supposed to be someone strong, someone with strong will power…'

But there he went again, with the supposed-to-be's. Supposed to be this, supposed to be that, and according to what standard? Not his own, but everyone else's. According to _Mirai Trunks_. Regular Trunks didn't exist to them.

"I don't exist to them." Trunks said to himself, beginning to feel his anguish disappear to be replaced by a dull kind of anger. "There's only room for one Trunks Briefs, and it's not me."

As the words left his lips, a spark of rebellion that he hadn't felt in the longest time began to shine in his blue eyes. Looking back in the direction of the Son house, Trunks slowly began to float in the air. 'They're probably expecting me back now.'

His body suddenly seemed to switch on automatic. Trunks felt himself blast off, but in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go. Farther and farther away he flew, his mind beginning to blank to everything around him except the exhilaration of the wind in his hair, the clouds brushing his face, and the peaceful chirping of the evening songbirds. The teen spread his arms, staring up at the cheerful sun that expected nothing from him.

* * *

_A/N: Yay for emo Trunks...review? :)_

_I apologize if I missed/misplaced any pagebreaks, never preserves them from the original documents so I always have to go back and re-insert them...please let me know if I made a mistake.  
_

_And not that I think anyone noticed, but I stopped those good Trunks fics recommendations after only doing one because it's been over a year since I've kept up with DBZ fics…_


End file.
